Charlotte: Salutations.
Wilbur: Salu-what?
Charlotte: Salutations.
Wilbur: What are they? And where are you?
Charlotte: Salutations is my fancy way of saying hello.
I remember how the word "salutations" rolled off my tongue and how throughout that summer, Will used that same word when he greeted members of his family. It was a BIG word and it just seemed to mean so much more as a warm greeting.
Yes, that summer we fell in love with Charlotte, she was a noble spider. She was wise in the ways of the world and foremost she valued friendship...for did she not value Wilbur and do everything in her power to save him from the axe?
Will learned another big word that summer....versatile:
[Wilbur is eyeing Charlotte's egg sack]
Charlotte: I'm versatile.
Wilbur: Does versatile mean full of eggs?
Charlotte: No it means I can change with ease from one thing to the next.
"Mom, you are versatile, too, just like Charlotte. You can do lots of things" Will said quietly. "I would like to be versatile."
But the most valuable lesson Will and I learned that summer was the part in the story when a fly lands in Charlotte's web:
Charlotte: Just a minute, Wilbur.
[she climbs up and wraps the fly]
Charlotte: He'll make a nice breakfast for me.
Wilbur: [shuddering] Ooooh. You mean you eat flies?
Charlotte: Why, certainly. I eat anything that gets caught in my web. I have to live, don't I?
Wilbur: Why, yes, of course.
[nervously]
Wilbur: Do they taste good?
Charlotte: Delicious.
Wilbur: LECCH!
Charlotte: Course, I don't really EAT them, I drink their blood. I love blood.
Wilbur: [gasps] Oh, please don't say things like that.
Charlotte: Why not? It's true.
Wilbur: But it's CRUEL.
Charlotte: Well, YOU can't talk. You have YOUR meals brought to you in a pail. Nobody feeds me. I live by my wits.
Wilbur: It just seems an odd sort of diet.
Charlotte: Do you realize that if I didn't eat them, bugs would get so numerous, they'd destroy the Earth? Spiders are really VERY useful creatures.
Now do you understand, in the summer when the days are warm, I rejoice when I go out on my porch and see spider webs hanging from the supports of the porch and by the water spouts...I have sweet memories of a young boy discovering the ways of the world.
If you know a child between the ages of six and ten, buy this book and read it aloud to them. The movie is fine, but the spoken word is better. Believe me, you won't regret the time spent. Every child should hear this story....there are many lessons to learn.
I wrote this photo essay for the group Picture This Quote:How we remember, what we remember and why we remember form the most personal map of our individuality.
-Christina Baldwin
rate
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 99
When I was a kid we had lots of Daddy long-legs right outside my window and my grandfather explained they were very useful and didn't bite and what a wonder of nature those beautiful webs were. Glistening in the sunlight. So generations of spiders lived in that one corner undisturbed.
Thank you for your wonderful presentation.
I am glad I brought a smile to your face this morn...that was my intent. It is the small things in life...gifts from nature...that warm our hearts.
"I can think better when I think alone."
"But, Charlotte," said Wilbur, "I'm not terrific."
That doesn't make a particle of difference," replied Charlotte. "Not a particle. People believe almost anything they see in print."
"Do you understand how there could be any writing in a spider's web?"
Oh, no," said Dr Dorian. "I don't understand it. But for that matter I don't understand how a spider learned to spin a web in the first place. When the words appeared, everyone said they were a miracle. But nobody pointed out that the web itself is a miracle."
"Fern says the animals talk to each other. Dr Dorian, do you believe animals talk?"
I never heard one say anything," he replied. "But that proves nothing. It is quite possible that an animal has spoken to me and that I didn't catch the remark because I wasn't paying attention. Children pay better attention than grown-ups... Perhaps if people talked less, animals would talk more."
"Why did you do all this for me?" he asked. "I don't deserve it. I've never done anything for you."
"You have been my friend," replied Charlotte. "That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what's a life, anyway? We're born, we live a little while, we die... By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heavens knows anyone's life can stand a little of that."
Through books such as Charlotte's Web we can create wonder in the minds of children and also teach a few lessons in life. Do buy the book for the twins.
I, too, have many memories from this book. Just last week when I was sitting on the porch noticing all the egg sacs I thought about my Mom and her legacy and I ran in the house and found this quote from the book:
" Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved her children and grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders quite took her place in his heart. She was in a class by herself. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both."
Mom was both a good writer and a true friend. I will miss her dearly.
What better thing to do on Labor Day then bring a bit of fresh air to one's friends.
Books really did inspire me as a child. I read to my children every night.
Thanks for the lovely photos too, Bob. I know spider webs can be tricky to capture.
All three of our boys loved this book...but I must admit, Zach had more opportunities to really get into all EB's books for did we not have an old ramshackle cabin in Brooklin, Maine...a mile from EB's house. You should of seen Zach's face light up when he actually got to tour EB's barn! Later we went to EB's gravesite where Zach placed a drawing on the grave....and the words he scrawled were "SOME WRITER". Yes, EB has been a big part of our lives.
Reading aloud to children who can "already read" is one of the finest things one can do for children. I know I just cringe when I hear a Mom say "Oh, I don't read to ______anymore. He KNOWS how to read."
When Will was in fourth grade all the kids in the neighborhood would stop by after supper just to hear me read another chapter in "Narnia". One is NEVER to old to hear a read-aloud.
Don't you just love this quote:
"But, Charlotte," said Wilbur, "I'm not terrific."
That doesn't make a particle of difference," replied Charlotte. "Not a particle. People believe almost anything they see in print."
As for the brown recluse spiders, magi can keep them. I will have no trek with them.
I never altered my vocabulary when speaking to him. He always asked if he didn't know a word and I always took the time to explain. In third grade he was tested and his vocabulary was college level. People don't always understand how capable of learning children are.
I read to my son all the time. But I also watched TV with him. We moved back to the U.S. when he was seven. Star Trek TNG became his favorite program. As a fan of the original, I was a fan too. We always watched it together. And there was always a lesson to be learned in each episode. That program sparked more conversations between us than I can count. I remember it as one of the best teaching tools of his childhood.
Thanks for sparking good memories. Your essay was a real treat this morning.
Find the book...buy it or go to your library and borrow it. Has so many thoughts for adults as well as for little people. It's a book that can cross all generations. I imagine when I am 90 and living in a Nursing Home I will have Zach or Will read it aloud to me!
"Children are game for anything. I throw them hard words, and they backhand them over the net. They love words that give them a hard time, provided they are in a context that absorbs their attention."
So you were on the right track with EB...big words are just fine to use with little ones.
You brought back beautiful memories of when I read this to my own children.... I had never read it before I read it to them....along with 'The Wind in the Willows' and the 'The Chronicles of Narnia' series.
Like Dianne, I never altered my vocabulary with the children and it was quite amusing to hear 3 and a half year old Marion say things like 'I have a predicament'...;-)
Your essay is wonderful!
I last read this book to my kids when they were that age. We all cried.
Certainly one of America's greatest authors.
Your article is Featured in the Triple Name Club.
Well, didn't you know, spiders build strong webs, Faith...they can withstand a lot...just like us!
It's good to see Faith here, too! I've been thinking of her.
I was so worried about faith yesterday I must of sent her a billion emails. Thanks for dropping by and seeing Charlotte's offsprings.
Excellent!
I'm one of a kind....no, make that two of a kind. Teaching in parables is one of the lessons I learned from a magical poet. Books didn't teach me everything.
Ahhh----one of my all-time favorites: From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E.L. Konigsburg. It won a Newbury Medal.
I used to love Charlotte's Web, too. I tried a couple of times to read it to 4 and 5-years old classes and it just never "took" with them. I had better success with Roald Dahl. I did read another book to the preschoolers every year about a spider named Helen called Be Nice to Spiders by Margaret Bloy Graham. It was helpful for some children who were frightened of bugs and spiders, and made others think twice before stomping on them.
I will check out "The View from Saturday" tomorrow when I go to school.
I loved Charlotte's Web as a child, and as an adult.
Very wise book indeed, but E.B.White was a very smart man (and a New Yorker!).
(Great to see Faith, too)
"Salutations, Janna.
Thanks."
Peter--I think you might really like From the Mixed-up Files.... The two children in the story who run away from home wind up living in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I'll have to check out the other Konigsburg book for myself. I remember when I was younger hoping that the author would write another book because I liked her first one so much.
Imagine, I had late night company and they did not wake me. Yes, Janna, I do believe Peter would love "Mixed-up Files" too because it takes place in New York at MoMa. When I taught 4th grade, this book was a jumping off point for when we visited the MFA, our own fine arts museum in Boston.
I saw that web and thought it was spectacular.
Sometime I'm going to have to try bananas deep fried in Vegemite and see if wisdom comes my way.
Charlotte offers "kind words of wisdom" in her quiet sound-bites.
"Charlotte's Web" certainly has been, and still is, a classic and favorite story for most obvious reasons.
Loved your pictures. Thanks for sharing this.
Thanks for stopping by and saying salutations.
I never read this book but through others learned of the characters
NPR recently re ran an interview of the author..fascinating insight..he modeled Charlotte on his wife of so many years.
'very lovely..
thank you!
Kathryn White was absolutely wonderful. I read her autobiography. Fascinating woman.
The movie was good but the book is even better. I can't wait to read it to Julia. I think BIG people enjoy it as much as wee folks. That goes for "Wind in the Willow", too.
Charlotte's web.the actors were all children,it was fantastic!julia fell asleep it was a late night out for a 4 year old.
I don't have a tarantula on the dining room wall despite what Julia has said! Lol
All the nerve of someone to tear all the hard work down, in one fell swoop.
I had an apricot-colored spider this morning weaving a many-stranded gangway to the humming bird feeder.
Thank you, Bob, for your recent comment to my post: Thank You, Gather Friends.
You are right. Will is a very versatile young man. He learned well from Charlotte.
Introducing Hannah to Charlotte's Web would be a wonderful way of talking about Roberta. These are the moments you can share your memories of Roberta with your daughter in a natural way. It's the memories of our loved ones that we share with others that keep them alive for us.
Your choice of pictures was great and I love spider webs.
Thanks for entering this in the Picture The Quote Challenge.
It was a great quote Sammie chose....
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976940554&nav=MyGather
..
U wishing you laughter
As soon as I read your post this evening, I smiled and thought to myself, Quinn is a very wise woman, almost like Charlotte. In your own quiet ways you teach bigger truths.